As the majority of trading volume in the Taiwanese stock market is created by retail investors, the Taiwanese government has been aiming to promote professionalism by channelling the money from retail investors into the hands of professional asset managers. The Executive Yuan passed the third reading of the Amended Draft of the Securities & Exchange Law on the 30th June 2000 (Article 18-3, the Securities & Exchange Law) and the Securities & Futures Bureau approved on 5th January 2001 that investment & trust and investment consulting companies may offer services in the discretionary investment business. The discretionary investment business in, in nature, similar with the set-up of mutual funds; however, the discretionary investment business offers bespoke characteristics and specifications catering to specific requests of individual investors. The customization in the scope of investment and underlying targets is made possible to satisfy differing needs of individual clients. As institutional investors are sophisticated in mapping out investment strategies and dedicated in their fundamental analysis of macroeconomic and political situations, industry trends and financial reports of listed companies, they are able to better allocate assets and select the stocks. At first, this research reviews all the relevant literature and looks into the details of the legal framework governing the discretionary investment business. This paper argues that the originally well-intentioned regulations in fact, at least to some degree, hamper the development of the discretionary investment business. Then this research paper examines the characteristics, basic structure and the legal framework of the discretionary investment business, probes into the Taiwanese asset management market and uses Grand Cathay Securities Investment Trust as a case study, as an attempt to shed light to the future development of the discretionary investment business in Taiwan. In this case study, the author investigates the strategies employed by Grand Cathay Securities Investment Trust against the backdrop of the business environment and the market competition by deploying scenarios analysis, SWOT analysis and the Porter¡¦s competitiveness framework (cost leadership vs. product differentiations). The scope of the strategic considerations covers 4P, i.e. price, product, place and promotion. Finally, this research concludes that there are two competitive strategies in this market, i.e. cost leadership and product differentiations and summarize the operational, marketing and operational implications of these two strategies.

The proverb ¡§Knowledge is power¡¨ points out the importance of knowledge. Most organizations understand the importance of knowledge and treat knowledge as a vital resource. Research in knowledge management has gained much attention in recent years. This study investigates how knowledge distribution affects knowledge interaction types, and how knowledge interaction affects the performance of knowledge management in an organization. A measure of interaction quality is also defined to include process and outcome quality. A survey research was conducted to examine our research framework. The results show that: 1. knowledge intensity affect the type of knowledge interaction and outcome quality. 2. Different types of knowledge interaction results in different interaction quality. 3. Outcome quality of knowledge interaction types affects KM performance. 4. KM performance affects organizational performance.

The objective of this study is to establish whether companies that utilise their resources more efficiently present specific characteristics in their financial profile, and whether on the basis of these characteristics a classification model can be constructed that includes, alongside resource utilisation measures, predictors related to other financial dimensions calculated from published information. The- research proceeds by examining the factors influencing companies' performance, and the reliabilty of published accounts. Discriminant analysis is chosen as the most appropriate technique of analysis. Its applications in the field of financial analysis are discussed -and an examination of the discriminant analysis technique is undertaken. For reasons of comparability and access to a large quantity of information, the analytical part of the study is based on data extracted from a computer readable tape provided by Extel Statistical Services Ltd. It starts by describing the financial variables to be used later on in the study, and proposing a classification framework that would be of assistance in identifying the financial dimensions of importance in relation to the problem under investigation. A discriminant model that correctly classifies 85 per cent of the companies is then constructed. It includes, besides measures of resources utilisation, measures of financial levarage, working capital management, cash position and stability of past performance. The-part of the analysis on the identification of potential well performing companies indicates that, although specific characteristics can be noticed up to five year before, it is only possible to construct a classification model with sufficient accuracy one year before a high level of performance is actually reached. Finally, an index of financial performance based on normal approximations of the z-score distributions from the model used to identify well performing companies is suggested and an assessment of the structural change experienced by companies rising from a less well to a well performaing status is presented.

There are many views about the meaning and importance of performance measurement of employees and of organizations. This thesis is concerned with many of these views but is most concerned with performance contracts and quality management and the relationship between them. The whole concept of the measurement of performance is sometimes questioned and in some cases regarded as being both subjective and futile. Van de Ven and Ferry (1980) argued that: "Whether the difficulties associated with assessing the performance of complex organizations can be met by a single set of measurement instruments and process guidelines has still to be proven." Glover and Kelly (1987) contended that measuring the performance of individual jobs can also be difficult: "Performance is hard or impossible to measure with many jobs and occupations, think for example of the differences between the work of architects, surgical appliance fitters, design engineers, criminals, politicians, street traders and musicians. There is often a conflict between volume and quantity of output in the long-term and the short-term such as when profits come before investment and vice-versa." Similarly, Van De Yen and Morgan (1980) argued with regard to organizational performance that: "Performance is a complex construct that reflects the criteria and standards used by decision makers to assess the functioning of an organization. As this definition suggests, performance is a value judgement on the results desired from the organization at different levels of analysis--and--often change over time." However, the demand for measurement of performance, whether it comes from the first level of supervision or from a shareholders' meeting, does tend to mean that attempts be made to measure performance (Talley, 1991).

Performance pay has been identified as a key element of modem human resource strategy but published field research has been limited. This thesis investigated the objectives, methods of operation and outcomes of several performance pay schemes through the creation and testing of several hypotheses. Evidence was gathered through a longitudinal study in one organisation augmented by case studies in two further organisations. The findings showed that organisations demonstrated a mix ofoperational and cultural objectives for introducing performance pay while the desired outcomes were to promote cultural change, internal equity and increased motivation. However, the findings from the longitudinal survey showed that the desired outcomes were not met, as viewed by the employees. Motivation was not increased, nor did the scheme help to change culture while pay satisfaction remained at a low level, although the employee response to the scheme showed a limited improvement after operating for one year. Positive employee viewpoints were highly correlated to the level of communication and satisfaction with pay. In terms of the influence of employee characteristics, women and non-union members were significantly more positive than men and union members. A cluster analysis showed that negative views were more strongly held than positive views which statistically influenced the outcomes and employees with such negative views had a 'bundle' of characteristics, namely middle grade males with long service and union membership. This research has made a number of contributions. It has added to the limited number of UK field studies and its longitudinal nature provides unique fmdings. It has provided data on the launch and initial period of operation ofa perfonnance pay scheme, as perceived by the employees. It has shown further evidence of strategic use of performance pay schemes with a newly constructed model. The findings have important implications for management, especially in relation to the identification of key supporter groups and opponents to the scheme and the issues that employees regard as key to the success of the scheme.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2007. / "May, 2007." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 77-87). Online version available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität St. Gallen, 2008.

Thesis (doctoral)--University of St. Gallen, 2008.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 285-291). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 285-291). Also available on the Internet.